"We are heading back tomorrow?" Sebastian changed the topic. She nodded while staring at his face so tenderly.
"Alright, we need to head to my job site in two days. Guess, this getaway is deserving!" He yawned and stretched.
"You looked excited about it, unlike in the news!" She pointed out with a smile.
"Well, who said I was against it? I love the idea! Looking forward to it, and you're coming with me! But first, I need to sleep more…" He closed his eyes, forcing his original wants and likings away in disguise with a wide smile.
Violet didn't notice cause she was speechless that he could still sleep. She slowly figured it was the peace and security he felt being away in an unknown place that made him able to get well rested. At the back of her mind, she reminded herself to quickly fix her footage and make a post of the trip since they were going to be busy the next few days while drifting to sleep.
Meanwhile, Wayne had been monitoring Pei Li the next day and, though paranoid that she was acting fine and knowing the fact that her depression episode was over, he was worried about surprises she would throw his way, especially because he was only a week away from his three-month filming schedule. He decided perhaps it was time to let her know of her symptoms and conditions bit by bit.
The next night, he made her a simple noodle dinner while he ate only fruits. Partly cause he was nervous, which dampened his appetite, and also cause he had to control his calorie intake.
"The notebook…" He started while Pei Li, who was taking a bite of her noodles, suddenly looked up at him, surprised.
"What… notebook?" She tried to remain composed while suppressing her anxiety.
"The one you had been writing about your day?" He prompted.
"How did you know?" She looked away, not wanting to explain.
"Isn't that your diary?" He pestered on.
She tried to recall when she had ever let him read it, but her memory failed her.
"Did you read it?" She started to panic.
"I did but …" He paused at her loud gasps. "No, no, no…" She denied it.
"Only because you let me…" He continued as she frowned in confusion.
He knew she would. He walked over and held her hand.
"Are you sure? I don't remember letting you read it…" She mumbled, half in distress from worrying and half frustrated with her failing memory.
"Do you understand what is going on with you?" His question was like the rumbling thunder right before a storm as their gazes met in terror. She was terrified that he would shun or even disown her, realising he might have known about Penny.
"What… do you… mean?" She stuttered.
"Penny, let me read it. Do you know her?" Wayne tried to pester her for more revelation, only for her to quickly put on an act like she always did with her mother.
"Pei Ni? Isn't she… when we were… young…" Pei Li was stuttering and couldn't bring herself to say dead cause it still hurt her after so many years.
"P E N N Y." Wayne spelled it out for her. "Have you heard of her before?"
She was very terrified as tears welled in her eyes. Wayne wiped them away.
"Little Wind, what's wrong with me? I don't remember a lot of things." Pei Li sniffed as she wiped her tears away, unsure if she wanted to continue her act.
"Who have you been writing to in the notebook?" He continued to prompt her.
"Pei Ni…" Pei Li swallowed a lump in her throat. "It was as though she were still alive. Sometimes I do see her replies, but I don't understand how or why the handwriting is the same." Pei Li explained as Wayne gently patted her hand to comfort her.
"That's because it was Penny who wrote it," Wayne replied as more tears welled in her eyes.
"Who is she, Little Wind? What's going on with me? Occasionally, I do hear voices calling out to me, like when I woke in the hospital and saw you. Whenever there's danger, she is always there. I would wake up not knowing what happened thereafter, but I would have this peaceful feeling after sleeping a lot." Pei Li's question made Wayne feel bad for her as he gently caressed her right cheek.
"She is you." His simple reply left her in more disbelief and confusion.
"How? No… What? No, no, no…" Pei Li sobbed into Wayne's arms.
"Pei Li, I'm here with you. We need to seek professional help for your condition." He comforted her.
"What do you mean?" Pei Li questioned.
"You have a bipolar disorder. Penny is another personality who protects you from danger. From what I guess, you might have put her in mind in place of Pei Ni…" Wayne's hypothesis made Pei Li break down, trying to accept the cruel, brutal facts. He gently patted her head and slowly explained his encounters with Penny and their findings to Pei Li that night, skipping the immoral acts of their father, for fear Pei Li couldn't handle.
While he accompanied her to her room to sleep that night, she was very worried for Wayne. His fame was only beginning to ignite, yet she had put his career in danger for rescuing her by marrying her. Now, her condition would only trouble him even more. The thought of leaving him dawned on her as she got up from bed. She planted a goodbye kiss before tucking Wayne, who was fast asleep, further into the blanket.
She grabbed her very limited belongings and made her leave, not knowing where to go due to the unfamiliarity of the place. The heavy drizzle wasn't helping either as she rushed to take shelter under a bridge. It reminded her of back then in Er Qu, when she found herself awake several times the next morning under the bridge. She wondered if it was Penny's attempts to run away from the old man.
Penny, thank you… Pei Li held herself closer as she slowly drifted to sleep, watching the heavy drizzle turn into a heavy downpour.
Wake up! What are you doing, Pei Li? Penny scolded.
No, Penny... You have done enough. Don't you think it's time we stopped troubling Little Wind? He had done so much for us. It's time we learn to be independent. Besides, I have you… and our plan initially. Pei Li explained while smiling.
Penny panicked as she could feel Pei Li's will to live subsiding.
She forced her way, as usual, to wake in her body within her subconscious and found herself by a river where the water level was rising fast due to the rain. Penny quickly grabbed her belongings and went to higher ground.
As she looked around her surroundings, she had no idea how far she was away from Wayne's place. She had never stepped out of his house at all, and the only thing she recognised was the view from his balcony. She forced herself to recall the name of the opposite condominium, but to no avail, as she hastily walked under the heavy downpour with the hope of being near the residential area.
With the strong howling sound from the wind and the heavy downpour, it woke Wayne in the middle of the night to find that Pei Li was missing.
"Pei Li!" He rushed out to the living room and checked every room frantically calling out to her, but there was no response.
He regretted revealing too much tonight as he grabbed a sweater and a cap to run out and search for her. His guess was she shouldn't have traveled very far, as she had not learnt how to call for a taxi, nor was there any public transport this late.
Penny could tell she was close to the neighbourhood from the similar building outlook, but her mind was more worried about what had triggered Pei Li's will to die again. She was afraid that it was her father and that something might have happened to Wayne. While being deep in her thoughts, searching desperately for the way home, she saw a black figure in front of her, panting heavily while staring in her direction.
She tried to ignore the figure so as not to attract attention, but the figure began to charge at her. "Pei Li!" Wayne's voice made Penny realised she had found her way home.
"Little Happiness?" She whispered as Wayne pulled her off his hug to look her in the eye.
"Penny?" He clarified as his eyes reddened with tears. Penny nodded.
"Oh, Penny! Where have you been? I thought I would never see you again!" Wayne broke down with happy tears as Penny gently patted his back to comfort him.
"What happened? Why is Pei Li away from you?" Penny questioned as Wayne sniffed.
"I… I wanted to bring her to seek professional help. I thought I should let her know of her condition beforehand…" Wayne explained as anger grew in Penny.
"Didn't you promise me to protect her? Didn't we agree not to tell her yet?" Penny scolded.
"But her condition is worsening… She had been sleeping a lot. I checked it out, and it seemed to be her depression phase. It might have ended yesterday as she was all normal today, but I'm very worried that when I have to go to a 3-month filming schedule, things would happen… And you… You weren't around… I don't know what to do…" Wayne cried.
"Why is her will to die returning again?" Penny revealed with tears. Wayne met her gaze in fear.
"You need to do something fast, Little Happiness. I will try to stay awake and not let her take over…" Penny urged as Wayne nodded with a plan in mind while they returned home to clean up and talk.